Juno News - Khalistani protesters in Calgary chant ＂kill Modi＂

00:00:00.000 U.S. President Donald Trump says that he believes a trade deal can be worked out with Prime

00:00:10.220 Minister Mark Carney in the coming days. Kalistani protesters assembled in downtown

00:00:15.040 Calgary to chant, Kill Modi, protesting the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Canada for

00:00:19.740 the G7 summit. A man who killed two people and injured three while driving high on meth 0.95

00:00:25.260 was released on bail. Hello Canada, it's Tuesday, June 17th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.

00:00:32.100 I'm Cosman Georgia. And I'm Jeff Knight. We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.

00:00:37.660 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.

00:00:45.460 U.S. President Donald Trump believes a trade deal with Prime Minister Mark Carney could be reached

00:00:50.740 within days as the two met at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. Trump was asked why the

00:00:58.120 Canada-U.S. trade dispute has endured for so long, to which he replied that he and Carney had different

00:01:03.620 concepts with Trump's being a, quote, tariff concept. Trump told reporters, quote, Mark has a different

00:01:11.160 concept, which is something that some people like, but we're going to see if we can get to the bottom

00:01:16.660 of it today. I'm a tariff person. I've always been a tariff person. It's simple, it's easy, it's precise,

00:01:23.460 and it just goes very quickly. The U.S. President said he thought a deal could be reached, quote,

00:01:29.240 within days, but that both parties would have to agree. Our primary focus will be trade and trade

00:01:34.960 with Canada, and I'm sure we can work something out. Yeah, very good. Thank you very much.

00:01:39.660 Thank you very much. Mr. President, what is holding up a deal with Canada from your perspective?

00:01:53.340 It's not so much holding up. I think we have different concepts. I have a tariff concept.

00:01:58.040 Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like, but we're going to see if we can get

00:02:04.560 to the bottom of it today. I'm a tariff person. I've always been a tariff. It's simple, it's easy,

00:02:11.040 it's precise, and it just goes very quickly. And I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very

00:02:20.500 good. So we're going to look at both, and we're going to see what, we're going to come out with

00:02:24.340 something, hopefully. Mr. President, do you think a deal is achievable within days, within weeks? Is there that

00:02:31.600 kind of runway? Yeah, it's achievable. Both parties have to agree. However, Trump appeared

00:02:37.520 more preoccupied with the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was removed from

00:02:42.860 the group 11 years ago. Russia was suspended indefinitely following the annexation of Crimea

00:02:49.040 in 2014, resulting in the political forum's name being reverted from G8 to G7. Media questions then

00:02:57.920 waded into the Iran-Israel conflict and U.S. deportations before Kearney ended the press

00:03:04.440 conference. The meeting marks the first time the pair have met in person since May, when Kearney

00:03:10.380 visited the White House in Washington, D.C. Government officials previously told the media about secret

00:03:16.940 discussions between the two leaders and top cabinet ministers earlier this month. Government sources said

00:03:23.300 the two have been trying to resolve tariff relations behind closed doors to ensure the best possible

00:03:29.180 scenario, with many of Canada's retaliatory tariffs being removed in April. So it's some positive news

00:03:36.800 that there seems to be development in the trade tariff discussions, but whether the trade deal that

00:03:45.900 emerges out of this process is actually beneficial to Canada or not is yet to be seen.

00:03:53.000 And I'm sure the Kearney government is hoping that the outcome will be seen as a beneficial one

00:04:01.760 when they essentially campaign for re-election on the slogan of elbows up with regards to the United

00:04:08.160 States. But what might that look like, Jeff? What has to be in this trade deal for Prime Minister Mark

00:04:15.380 Kearney, in particular with the renegotiation of the USMCA, for it to be considered a success for

00:04:22.960 the Liberal government? Yeah, Cosman. Well, there's several key elements that must be included in the deal.

00:04:27.720 First, Kearney needs a significant rollback of the US's 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, which have

00:04:33.580 disrupted exports and cost the industry an estimated $2 billion monthly. Restoring tariff-free access for these

00:04:39.460 critical sectors would stabilize manufacturing jobs, particularly in Ontario and Quebec, where plants like Honda's

00:04:45.160 Alliston facility have faced production shifts. Secondly, the deal must secure exemptions or

00:04:50.200 reduced tariffs on Canadian energy exports, especially oil and gas, to diversify markets

00:04:55.080 beyond the US, where 97% of Canada's oil currently goes. This would align with Kearney's pivot to Asia,

00:05:00.920 as Alberta Premier Daniel Smith has pushed for pipelines to access higher-priced Asian markets,

00:05:05.400 potentially adding $5 to $10 per barrel to Canadian oil. Third, successful renegotiation should include

00:05:11.020 provisions to protect Canada's auto sector, ensuring that the 50% ZEV mandate by 2030 isn't undermined by

00:05:17.020 US tariffs, which have already prompted Stellantis and Ford to shift operations south. Finally,

00:05:22.220 Kearney must secure a commitment to avoid future unilateral tariff hikes, providing long-term

00:05:27.020 predictability amid Trump's tariff concept preference, which Kearney has resisted. Without these elements,

00:05:32.380 tariff relief, energy market access, auto sector stability, and trade security, the deal risks being seen

00:05:37.900 as a concession to Trump's approach rather than a win for Canada's economic resilience.

00:05:45.020 Chants of Kill Modi rang out in downtown Calgary as Calistan's separatist activists gathered to

00:05:50.380 protest Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi's visit to Canada for the G7 summit. The demonstration has

00:05:55.740 sparked alarm over the violent rhetoric directed at a democratically elected foreign leader on Canadian

00:06:00.540 soil by proponents of a movement that has a history of politically motivated terrorist attacks

00:06:05.420 and assassinations. Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to attempt to mend Canada-India relations

00:06:10.700 by inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 has spurred protests from Canada's

00:06:16.060 Calistan separatists in various locations. Around 50 Calistan protesters descended on Calgary in a

00:06:21.980 convoy to protest Modi and to advocate for a referendum to allow a new Sikh-majority country

00:06:27.180 to be carved out of India. Juno News' Kian Beksti was on the scene as activists descended on Calgary

00:06:32.460 City Hall, where protesters could be heard chanting, quote, Kill Modi, followed by, quote, Politics.

00:06:37.900 Calistan supporters protested Modi's arrival, promoting the event with signs featuring crosshairs

00:06:42.700 over the face of the democratically elected leader of India, who was invited as a guest to Canada.

00:06:47.580 Other chants included Boycott Air India. According to Moka Bzergin, an independent journalist,

00:06:53.020 others chanted, quote, Parmar's ideology is ours to guide, a reference to a Sikh activist accused of

00:06:59.500 taking part in the Montreal Air India bombings in 1985. Sikhs for Justice, the group that organized

00:07:05.740 the, quote, unquote, peaceful demonstration, told True North the planned 48-hour rally was called

00:07:11.260 Ambush Modi Politics. The RCMP did not respond to True North's request for comment. The organizers,

00:07:17.180 Sikhs for Justice, are a group banned in India. Girpatwant Singh Panin, listed as a terrorist by

00:07:22.700 the Indian government and general counsel for the SFJ, told True North that the protests would

00:07:27.580 remain peaceful, but called for accountability for the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Najjar.

00:07:33.020 India-Canada relations have been strained since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the

00:07:37.340 Indian government of assassinating Najjar too. The Indian government did not respond to True North's

00:07:42.460 requests for comment. So, Cosmin, how do these protests affect Prime Minister Karni's effort to mend

00:07:47.500 relations with India? Well, primarily it looks awful on the international stage when we're hosting a 1.00

00:07:54.540 bunch of different world leaders at the G7 summit in Alberta and these inter-ethnic conflicts play out

00:08:02.860 on Canadian streets and it's all over social media. I am sure the news, the legacy media is doing its best

00:08:11.180 to bury it, but it just goes to show how low we have fallen and it's a testament to what radical and

00:08:19.900 mass immigration policies have produced in this country where people are emboldened to go out on

00:08:27.500 the streets and, you know, tongue-in-cheek call for the killing, proverbial killing, of people they disagree

00:08:36.380 with in their own home country. And it's not the first time the Khalistan movement has had a long

00:08:42.540 history of radical statements, demands, and protests. It goes all the way back here in British Columbia.

00:08:51.020 There were parades annually in Surrey in the past years where they had floats glorifying the terrorists

00:08:59.900 on the Air India bombing attack, which remains the largest terrorist attack perpetrated in Canadian

00:09:07.340 history. And to this day, essentially, the RCMP and federal government have not done anything to

00:09:15.100 condemn or crack down on this growing separatist movement within Canada. And they're becoming more

00:09:23.660 emboldened each and every single year. A man accused of killing two people and injuring three others

00:09:34.060 in a deadly meth-induced dangerous driving incident was granted bail on Wednesday. A Vancouver Provincial

00:09:41.340 Court judge ruled on June 12th that Chai Sun Park, the accused in a motor vehicle accident that caused the

00:09:49.420 deaths of two people and injured three others while he was allegedly driving under the influence of

00:09:54.860 methamphetamine, should be released on bail. Chai Sun Park 35 faces 15 charges related to the accident,

00:10:01.980 which occurred last February. RCMP said at the time that an eastbound vehicle was stopped on the

00:10:07.980 side of the highway when it was struck by an SUV between 3.30 a.m. and 3.45 a.m. with the SUV presumably driven

00:10:15.820 by Park. According to police, one person was already dead when they arrived on the scene and two others

00:10:21.980 were taken to the hospital in critical condition with one later passing away. The deadly accident

00:10:27.980 claimed the lives of Mursal Arifi and Jenna Hepperly. Park is charged with two counts of dangerous driving

00:10:35.580 causing death along with 13 other charges including five counts of driving while on methamphetamine

00:10:41.820 causing either death or bodily injury. The charges were sworn on June 9th and Park appeared before

00:10:47.660 Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Susanna Sanga for a bail hearing. Park, who was not in custody prior to

00:10:54.620 the hearing, was released without any financial bail obligation. The details of why he was provided bail

00:11:00.780 are covered by a standard publication ban. Jeff, this amounts to essentially a slap on the wrist for this

00:11:08.540 individual suspected to be responsible for the deaths of two people to the justice system's ability

00:11:15.500 to protect the community at large. Yeah, releasing Chi Sun Park on bail definitely endangers the

00:11:22.300 Vancouver community given the severity of the charges and the circumstances surrounding the incident.

00:11:27.100 Park faces 15 charges including two counts of dangerous driving causing death and five counts of

00:11:32.380 driving while on methamphetamine causing death. The RCMP reported that the accident occurred when Park

00:11:37.100 allegedly struck a stopped vehicle on Highway 1 while under the influence, suggesting a reckless

00:11:41.740 disregard for safety that could certainly recur if he drives again. His release without financial

00:11:46.300 bail on June 12th, despite not being in custody prior, raises concerns about insufficient measures to

00:11:51.340 prevent further risk, especially since methamphetamine impairment is known to impair judgment and reaction

00:11:56.700 time, contributing to over 3,500 drug impaired driving incidents in Canada in 2017 alone. The lack of

00:12:03.740 transparency due to the publication ban on bail details amplifies community fears as it leaves

00:12:08.620 residents uncertain about safeguards like monitoring or restrictions on driving. Vancouver's proximity

00:12:13.660 to major highways and its dense population means any repeat incident could have devastating consequences,

00:12:18.940 particularly given the city's history of traffic-related fatalities with 42 deaths reported in 2024.

00:12:25.420 The decision to grant bail, even if based on legal technicalities like Park's prior freedom,

00:12:30.060 overlooks the potential for ongoing substance abuse or mental health issues, which studies linked to

00:12:34.780 a 50% recidivism rate for drug impaired drivers within five years, according to a 2020 Canadian

00:12:40.380 Centre on Substance Use and Addiction report. Without strict conditions, such as mandatory sobriety

00:12:45.100 checks or house arrest, this release could expose the community to a heightened and preventable danger.

00:12:52.940 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by

00:12:58.540 subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it,

00:13:03.100 make sure to hit us with a five-star rating and please leave a review.

Juno News - June 17, 2025

Khalistani protesters in Calgary chant ＂kill Modi＂

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript